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As the son of first-generation immigrants, Kushal, Co-Founder and CEO, knows first-hand the importance of education and its power to change lives. He owes everything to a few teachers and mentors who believed in him and took a risk on him when he was younger. Previously, Kushal led technical strategy, design and development for the multi-hundred million dollar personalized recommendations system at Amazon.com and, before that, was a research scientist working in artificial intelligence and computational biology. He has authored over 20 patents, talks and peer-reviewed articles over his career. Kushal graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in computer science and a B.A. in molecular biology. What gets him up every morning is the knowledge that although there's a lot about the world he can't change, he can help make a difference about this.

Problem

Believe it or not, in most countries college loans just don't exist. Imagine: No matter how smart you were, how hard you worked or how good your grades were, if you didn't have a bunch of money up front, you just couldn't go to college. Your ability to raise a family, move up in the world and achieve your potential are forever limited, not because you didn't have that potential but because you never got a chance.

Innovation / New Solution

Vittana is a different kind of organization. Their founders, board of directors, staff, and supporting organizations are drawn from some of the best technology companies, non-profit organizations and design and law firms in the world. They're drawing upon the best lessons from the business and non-profit worlds to help create lasting change for students around the world.

Impact

A college education has the power to completely change someone's life. By finishing college, a student can earn more money to support his or her family — on average, Vittana graduates earn 200-300% more than they would have otherwise. But often, many other less quantifiable but far more powerful things happen. Imagine the self-confidence of a single mother who goes back to school and is able to finish. Imagine what kind of a role model an older brother becomes when he's the first to graduate college in the family. Imagine how a whole town can be lifted up by a new doctor, engineer or teacher. The success rate of Vittana loans is approximately 97%, new countries are being added every 1-2 months, and, in countries like Vietnam and Nicaragua, students are lining up and forming waitlists for Vittana loans.

Expert Comments

• They have an interesting niche (education microfinance) and a charismatic leader, but they also have some huge operational hurdles.
  
  
• Vittana applies the logic of US student lending to Indian microfinance.
  
  
• They are attempting to set up a peer-to-peer education lending facility, which could be very beneficial to the actualization of this largely untapped market space.
  
  

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